List of animal phyla is a list of the major groups of animals usually classified as a phylum. Modern sources have been used: the list is different from that of Linnaeus or Cuvier. A list of this type may be arranged alphabetically; equally it might be arranged according to evolutionary relationships. No list will be completely satisfactory. Authorities differ in what they consider a phylum, and in the actual name of the phylum. Despite this, there is agreement on most phyla. Most modern surveys include groups above the phylum: superphyletic groupings based on evidence of common descent.

Nematoda: the round worms. For purists, the name Nemata has priority.[4] Despite their rather limited body form, this is a major phylum, with huge numbers in every conceivable habitat. Over 80,000 species have been described, and 15,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number may be several hundred thousand. A public relations claim that nematodes "account for 90% of all life at the bottom of the sea" has no reliable basis, but they are certainly important.

Priapulida or Priapula: small phylum of 18 species, with large front section which can be drawn back into the body cavity and extruded for feeding. The larger species are carnivores, seizing prey. The Burgess Shalefauna from the Cambrian shows that the living species are but a remnant of a once much larger group.[2]p358 A minor phylum.

Kinorhyncha: another small phylum (150 species) with an introvert which carries a mouth at the end when extended. A minor phylum.

Loricifera: a new phylum, discovered in the 1970s. They are microscopic, 100–485μm;[5] ~100 species. They have an exoskeleton called a Interlaced Wavy Womens Evening Glitter Bag Beads Clutch Damara White lorica, and an introvert which can be withdrawn into the trunk. They live at the bottom of the water column attached to gravel. Three species live completely without oxygen. A minor phylum.

Onychophora: the velvet worms. Only 110 species from two families, they are relatives of the Arthropods. A minor phylum.

Arthropoda: by far the largest phylum. A recent estimate of the number of arthropods on Earth today is 3.7 million species.[6] It includes animals with jointed limbs and an exoskeleton made of chitin. There are many opinions about its classification. An arrangement found in several texts is: Superphylum Arthropoda: Phyla Chelicerata, Crustacea, Uniramia (Insects + Myriapoda).[1]Evening Interlaced Beads Clutch Womens Bag Wavy White Glitter Damara p61 If Arthropoda is ranked as a phylum, its subdivisions rank as Subphyla:

Hexapoda. Two classes of hugely different size. Insecta: the insects; overwhelmingly the most common terrestrial animals, with an estimated 1.5 to 3 million species in about 30 orders. Apterygota are the wingless insects. Development of insects involves many kinds of larvae, both aquatic and terrestrial and, almost always, metamorphosis. The other class, the Entognatha consists of three small groups.

Tardigrada: 'Water bears'. 700 species of microscopic animals from damp or aquatic habitats. Structure is constant: head, four segments, each with two legs. Terrestrial species are adapted to survive extreme conditions. A minor phylum.

Sipuncula: 150 species, no certain fossil record. Small, tube-like marine animals with long tentacle-like front part which can be pulled in or out. The mouth is surrounded by a ring of cilia. Has pelagic larvae. A minor phylum.

Annelida: important phylum of both aquatic and terrestrial segmented worms. At least 15,000 living species. Fossil record weak, evolutionary history not well known. Classes: Polychaeta (marine worms), Oligochaeta (earthworms), Hirudinea (leeches). Larvae are trochophores or nectochaeta.

Bryozoa, also known as the Ectoprocta: An aquatic phylum with a huge fossil record (one of the most common in the Palaeozoic). Still fairly common, though little known to the public. There are now 5000 species, most of which build calcareous skeletons. They are almost all colonial, and all their zooids are clones.

Nemertea or Nemertini: flat, unsegmented ribbon worms, mostly aquatic. They have also been called Rhynchocoela or proboscis worms. About 1400 species. There have been reports of extremely long ribbon worms, unconfirmed. Larvae are pilidiums. A minor phylum.

Rotifera: the rotifers. The rotifers (2200 species) are everywhere in transient pools and in sea and fresh water. The ring of cilia circling the mouth and the protective lorica are distinctive. The phylum now includes the Acanthocephala, parasitic thorn-headed worms.

Gastrotricha: another phylum of small aquatic animals, with about 700 species. They are bilateral with a complete gut. They are covered with cilia, and have two terminal glands. One gland secretes cement, the other dissolves it. They have a short life span of a few days. A minor phylum.

Echinodermata: One of the most important marine phyla, with radial symmetry. 17,000 living species, which all live in the ocean, mostly on the sea bed. This is the largest phylum which is entirely marine. The main classes are quite well-known. The Crinoids are 'sea lilies', a remnant of a once great clade; the Asterozoa are the starfish, major predators of shell-fish, and the brittle stars. The Echinozoa are the sea urchins, sand dollars and the sea cucumbers. There are also some extinct groups. The echinoderm fossil record is extensive. Larvae are varied and planktonic: pluteus (echinoids); dipleurula, then bipinneria; then brachiolaria (starfish); ophiopluteus (brittle stars); doliolaris (sea cucumbers).

Hemichordata: The Chordates' closest relatives, three groups which are brought together in most modern taxonomies.

Pterobranchia: a small sub-phylum of two or three marine groups which usually build tubes, and form small colonies on sea floor. They have a long fossil record. Zooids carry prominent ciliated tentacles. A minor phylum.

Chordata: the phylum which contains the vertebrates. As with the Arthropoda, some taxonomists regard this as a Superphylum, with three phyla. Here, the chordata has three sub-phyla:

Depending on how one counts, the list contains 32 (or 39) phyla of metazoan animals. Of these, 20 are minor phyla, and at least 21 are exclusively aquatic, with several others in quasi-aquatic habitats on land. None are entirely terrestrial. This is testimony to the importance of water for life, and to the sea in particular. It is fairly certain that all phyla originated in the sea or, at any rate, in water. Most made their first showing in the Cambrian, or in the Ediacaran. Naturally, most of the soft-bodied phyla have left few fossils.

Phyla may be grouped according to evidence about their evolutionary relationships. The list above puts similar groups together.

This table has the advantage of being sortable. The terminology differs in places from the above descriptions. Also, by listing living species only for most phyla, those with huge fossil records (like Bryozoa and Brachiopods) are lower in the order despite being important aquatic forms in the Palaeozoic era.